Posts by Pete Zahut

11

Another silly Bible story...brought to you by the ''old and tired Moses''

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

exodus 17:8-16 new international version (niv)the amalekites defeated8 the amalekites came and attacked the israelites at rephidim.

9 moses said to joshua, “choose some of our men and go out to fight the amalekites.

tomorrow i will stand on top of the hill with the staff of god in my hands.”10 so joshua fought the amalekites as moses had ordered, and moses, aaron and hur went to the top of the hill.

Pete Zahut

I wonder why God didn't send in an angel or two to kill off the Amalekites the way he did in Egypt when all of the first born Egyptian children and livestock were killed in one night.

Then again, I'm probably using foolish human reasoning.

21

This is an absolute classic

by joe134cd in

this is an absolute must see for any exjw.

so we'll done and absolutly halerious.

enjoy peeps.

Pete Zahut

I watched the video and came away with a few thoughts:

Wow....there is actually an entire department dedicated to handling the estates donated by JWs ??
This was an obvious joke but I suppose something like that could happen to a family member who was dependent upon properties or funds donated to the Watchtower by another family member.
The people on the phone were extremely patient and kind.
The video to some degree undermines the legitimacy of those who have serious complaints against the Watchtower.

9

Grief

by dogisgod in

having been raised in the troof i have no idea how to grieve.

it seems to never leave.

time helps but it is so horrible for so long..

Pete Zahut

This is what I know about dealing with grief:

It's natural to grieve so don't fight it.
Instead of non stop grieving, set your grief aside and have a designated but limited time each day when you allow yourself to dwell on your grief.
During that time, write down your thoughts, ideas and plans so that they won't be rattling around in your head the rest of the day.
Expect 1 month of grieving for every year that you were involved with the subject of your grief.
Don't make any important life altering decisions while you're still grieving.
Don't put off doing the things you like/want or need to do until you feel better. Do these things anyway until you do feel better.
Have a list of 3 small things you want to accomplish for the day and congratulate yourself even if you only get one of those things done.
Remember your feelings come from thoughts you are having. You have control over your thoughts and emotions.Your feelings are only as real and as important as you decide to make them.
When it comes to grief, time will be your friend and your coping skills will be much stronger from then on and grief will not be quite as troublesome to you in the future.

43

Are the G.B.members really good business people ?

by smiddy3 in

jw
friends

if i was an author of a book i think i would be over the moon if i was guaranteed a sale of around 5 million or more books for my work.. the jehovah`s witnesses have over 8 million members plus relatives that are fringe dwellers who come to the memorial once a year ,.

so what a gold mine they have been sitting on as a publishing house .. why didn`t they keep publishing books for the faithful ,they could have even upped the price , and the faithful would have paid especially in prosperous country`s in the west.. they could have milked this venture for years to come as the faithful would have bought anything they would have published .. and their prophets (profits) would have soared ,literally and figuratively for many more years to come ..

Pete Zahut

Why didn`t they keep publishing books for the faithful ,they could have even upped the price , and the faithful would have paid especially in prosperous country`s in the west.
If the GB were good business people they would stop shunning so that people would leave and they could sell more kingdom halls off

I'm sure that some current JW's would claim that these seemingly bad business moves on the part of the GB and their willingness to continue getting rid of members by DF-ing them is proof that they aren't in it for the money.

A few years ago the GB were horrified by anything related to the internet and shuddered at the very idea of JW's having anything to do with it. Now they are enthusiastically embracing it via their own website and by providing internet service in the Bethel residences and offices. I have the feeling that their connections with the outside printing world led them to the conclusion that they needed get on board the cyberspace band wagon before it was too late. They realized that they could bring in just as much money with far less effort by providing "virtual" spiritual food rather than a physical product.

I'm half expecting to hear one day that they'll convince the flock that loyalty to Jehovah and supporting his organization involves having a monthly subscription to their website just like they used to have for the magazines.

They could provide "special" insights or topics for discussion each month that would be covered in the upcoming meetings and only those with subscriptions would be privy to it via the Kingdom Hall WiFi using their ipads. The really righteous families would be encouraged to have a subscription for each member of the family, just like they used to encourage us to do with the magazine subscriptions.

A mere $1monthly subscription from each JW would bring them 8 million extra each month or $96 million per year without having to use a single drop of ink or sheet of paper. That might just about cover the law suit settlements that seem to be happening lately on a regular basis these days.

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30

Christmas arrogance

by stillin in

one of the witness rebuttals that is used to belittle the christmas holiday is the one where they say that people reduce jesus christ to being just a baby in a manger, whereas the witnesses recognize him as a mighty king, a much more accurate and current way to view jesus.

a baby in a manger is a sweet sight on any day, it's true, but more is going on than meets the eye in the case of jesus.

this particular baby is the first baby to have been born without an earthly father, the immaculate conception.

Pete Zahut

@ Myelaine Yep....to me this seems like more of the same skewed human logic where daisy chained bible verses are stretched to the maximum in order to force them to marginally apply to modern day situations.

30

Christmas arrogance

by stillin in

one of the witness rebuttals that is used to belittle the christmas holiday is the one where they say that people reduce jesus christ to being just a baby in a manger, whereas the witnesses recognize him as a mighty king, a much more accurate and current way to view jesus.

a baby in a manger is a sweet sight on any day, it's true, but more is going on than meets the eye in the case of jesus.

this particular baby is the first baby to have been born without an earthly father, the immaculate conception.

Pete Zahut

@

24

Question for PIMOS but all welcome

by ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara in

so once pimo how do you deal with going to the meetings, ministry, social getotgethers, conventions assemblies?.

for one you know it is all off key,.

two your 2 hours or more so just wasted (not counting the time getting ready,travelling etc).

Pete Zahut

When I was fading there was one particularly obnoxious "Sister" who would always say in a loud voice

"Hi Pete....we've missed you...where have you been ? "

She did this one Sunday after the meeting so I nudged her gently with my elbow and said jokingly

" Well I've miss you too Mary but you know, if you'd show up to the meetings once in awhile we'd see each other more often " ..

Everyone nearby chuckled and she laughed uneasily but never said that to me again.

My strategy was never to explain myself or seem apologetic about anything. If questioned, I'd give them the blankest looks I could muster and act as if I had no idea why they would be concerned about me or asking me such things.

39

These days it not really that hard being a witness.

by I believe in overlapping in

if you are a true believer, then you are toast.

because you will be a slave to everything the watchtower, circuit overseers, elders, pioneers, imply.

believe me, there are not many true believers anymore, and the majority of them are old.

Pete Zahut

I agree that compared to even 5 years ago, it is easier for JW's to skirt around their supposed beliefs and there's less required of them to be considered an "active "JW. It seems that the average JW (especially the younger ones) are more flexible when it comes to upholding a lot of the hard to live by doctrines.

Because of the allowance of Blood Fractions, even the Blood issue has been made less stringent. HIPPA laws give JW's the assurance that if they accept blood, their choice will be kept private by their doctors and hospital staff.

My Son's girlfriend is a newly graduated RN. (nonJW) She was hired at a major hospital immediately after graduation and attended the hospitals staff training program. There was an entire section of the training devoted to JW's and how to handle them. Part of the hospital protocol is to visit the patients privately once the Liaison Committee and JW friends and family aren't present to be sure they are making their own choice regarding blood. According to her instructor, more often than not the JW's (especially young people)beg them to do whatever it will take to save their lives and make sure no other JW finds out. The Hospital is obligated to carry out their wishes confidentially.

23

Yet another example why you can't reason with a JW

by nowwhat? in

so i mentioned to my pimi brother that the org.

only grew by 1.4 % 2 years in row and if you factor in the birthrate of 1.1 % that's only 3/10 of 1% growth for all that hard work.

i thought people would be streaming to the mountain of jehovah in the last days?

Pete Zahut

So he says he's not concerned about numbers, after all only 7 people made it into the ark!

Weren't there 8 people on the Ark?

Anyway, (if the story is even true), the global flood Noah warned his contemporaries about, came in his own lifetime. Generations of JW's have come and gone since the 1800's even though they claimed all the while that the end would come in their lifetime.

He's may not be concerned with numbers even though the Organization he is loyal to requires him to report his field service hours and literature placed because they are indeed concerned with numbers. If those numbers are favorable they like to use it as proof that they are the true religion.

30

Christmas arrogance

by stillin in

one of the witness rebuttals that is used to belittle the christmas holiday is the one where they say that people reduce jesus christ to being just a baby in a manger, whereas the witnesses recognize him as a mighty king, a much more accurate and current way to view jesus.

a baby in a manger is a sweet sight on any day, it's true, but more is going on than meets the eye in the case of jesus.

this particular baby is the first baby to have been born without an earthly father, the immaculate conception.

Pete Zahut

When we celebrate our birthdays we don't open up the photo albums, gather around and coo over "the baby". We want people to relate to us as we are. Why would Jesus want it any differently than we do?

Typically the person being celebrated is in the room and everyone is aware of their age. I can imagine some parents reflect back on the day their child is born, look at their photos and review all the events that took place that day especially if there was something particularly traumatic that happened. I know I do.

Again, Christmas is based around the miraculous birth of the son of God and the events that took place at that time. There are other holidays and customs that highlight important aspects of his adult life. I don't think you're truly concerned about anyone being confused about Jesus still being a baby or that somehow he'd disapprove. The feeble arguments you present come across as attempt to nit pick and grasp at straws in order to feel more knowledgeable and or virtuous .

As the Israel of God, His people are called out of the world. We're to separate ourselves as a holy nation unto God...following Jesus and worshipping in spirit and truth.

That was the nation of Israel and God ended that arrangement because it failed miserably. They were an actual nation of people long before Jesus arrived so they weren't even following Jesus much of the time. JW's somehow dare to call themselves spiritual Israelites even though as far as I know, there was no indication that Christians were to view themselves as an actual nation, spiritual or otherwise.

It is solely a tradition of men. God is not obligated to honour our feelings about "why" we celebrate christmas and He's not obligated to honour the traditions of men. Since December 25th isn't Jesus' birthday, it's even less likely that God honours the christmas celebration with His approval.

Who said anything about God being obligated to honor our feelings or traditions and how is it that you presume know so much about what he approves or disapproves of that you can criticize and or condemn other peoples customs? As JW's we sang bible based songs several times during each of the meeting just like the hymns in the churches of Christendom. That was a man made custom that was intended to honor God rather than something God required. Who knows if he approved of it or not? Hopefully he saw it for what it was...humans trying to please him.

It seems to me that when it comes to religion we are all guessing at just about everything and it is likely that we are all completely off track. I figure it's best not to criticize other people's religious customs especially since God (if he even exists) is probably shaking his head at everyone's attempts to figure out what he wants. The important thing, (if any of it truly happened) is that 2018 years after his death, people still know who Jesus was.

My father passed away and isn't here to speak for himself but I can't imagine my brother or my sisters being so presumptuous as to claim that they knew him better or that he approved of them more or that their relationship with him and attempts to honor him are superior to mine.

I just don't understand the superior attitude some people have about their religious beliefs and what God supposedly wants or approves of. They act as if they have it all figured out and have a special "in" with God and or mock or condemn anyone who thinks differently than they do. This is why I want nothing to do with religion and more often than not, religious people.